Technology Advances in Fast Reactors and Accelerator Driven Systems
Completed Coordinated Research Project:
The Use of Thorium-based Fuel Cycle in Accelerator Driven Systems (ADS) to Incinerate Plutonium and to reduce Long-term Waste Toxicities
| participants: | Belarus, Czech Republic, Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Russia, Sweden, and CERN; Spain attends as an observer. |
| duration: | 1996-2000 |
The scope of the CRP was to quantify the potential of the ADS in conjunction with thorium fuel to burn transuranics (LWR-MOX discharge), minor actinides (LWR-MOX and fast reactor discharge), and long-lived fission products. The specific objective of the CRP was to investigate the neutronics of ADS. It addressed the main neutronics issues for both the thorium fuelled and the transuranics/minor actinides ADS incinerator concepts. The work of the CRP was structured in 3 phases: The topic of the first phase was quantification of the neutonics parameters (like enrichment vs. subcriticality level, burnup curve, void effect, etc.) of a simplified Energy Amplifier. This phase was completed in 1997 (TCM in Madrid, September 1997). In the second phase, the CRP attempted to quantify the potential of fast spectrum ADS to incinerate transuranics, minor actinides, and long-lived fission products (e.g., the CRP investigated the maximum transmutation rates, the dependency of transuranics and minor actinides inventories on the subcriticality level, and the sensitivity of the ADS neutron spectrum to the external source spectrum). This phase was completed in 1988 (TCM in Petten, Decembetr 1998). Both phases 1 and 2 of the CRP have revealed significant discrepancies between the results of the participants. This showed the importance of revisiting some of the calculations and trying to obtain experimental backing. Phase 3, in its sub-phase 3.1. consisted in the direct continuation of phase 1 with an extension towards thorium and transuranincs fuel, fixed geometries, and pre-defined detailed burnup procedures. In sub-phase 3.2. , analytical and experimental study of the ADS sumulator YALINA being setup at SOSNY, Minsk, under the ISTC B-70 project (thermalised neutron spectrum, continuous and pulsed sources) was undertaken. Thus, the sub-phase 3.2. of the CRP offered the opportunity to widen the international participation in benchmarking and validation studies based on well-defined and refined experiment. Some of the phase 3 activities are still on-going. The CRP report is being finalized.
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| Meetings: | |
Consultancy to meeting with the framework of the Coordinated Research Project "Use of Thorium-based Fuel Cycle in Accelarator Driven Systems (ADS) to Incinerate Plutonium and to Reduce Long-term Waste Toxicities" | |
| from 2000-07-10 to 2000-07-11 in Minsk, Belarus | |
| contact person(s): Alexander STANCULESCU | |
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